The following menu from a Japanese ski resort is worth a close read.
Twin Towers at a Ski Resort?
This is the Tomamu ski resort in Japan, which was substantially overbuilt back in the 1980s, including these twin towers stuffed with hotel rooms. And yes, it was snowing like crazy.
A Shrine for a Chairlift?
Yep. This shrine was positioned right next to the top of a chairlift in Hokkaido. No idea why.
...And Sometimes You Ski Over a Tree
Our Hokkaido guide Tay decided to take the over-the-top route to get past this fallen tree in the woods.
A Shrine to Powder Skiing
We were skiing in the trees off to one side of the Canmore Resort in Japan, and came upon this nifty temple out in the woods.
New Road Signs
The down arrow indicates the edge of the road. The road sign - who knows? And of course, look out for avalanches.
Heavy Snow Load
Some of the trees in the Hokkaido back country are overwhelmingly jammed with snow, as shown here. These snow loads can fall off in chunks, so you could be skiing along in powder and then run into a block of much denser snow.
Major Typos
Some of the Japanese-to-English signs are a bit off on the spellings. This one was posted at a national park that ran a tram up the side of the largest volcano on Hokkaido.
Serious Booze
The Japanese certainly like their whisky. These four-liter bottles even have a handy grip on the back, making it easier to chug them. And yes, everyone in Japan is still wearing a mask.
Even the Bread is Cute
Most Japanese advertising appears to follow the theme of being as cute as possible - which even extends to how they sell their bread.
Dinner, Japanese Style
Here is most of the group having dinner at a local Japanese restaurant. The food is great, and incredibly cheap.
Artistic Ridgelines
This is a view across the valley from a Hokkaido ski resort. Note the series of layered ridgelines going off into the distance.
Overloaded Car Shuttle
Here we are in an overloaded van during a transport from the unused back side of a Hokkaido ski resort to its main entrance. A bit short on seat belts. And yes, that is two people stacked up in the seat on the right.
Bit of a Chairlift Problem
The backside of this Hokkaido ski resort had been closed for the season, allowing for the snow buildup you see here. We skied down the back through pristine snow and caught a ride back to the front side of the resort.
Choked in Snow
Central Hokkaido is jam-packed with snow, and a lot of it is stuck to the trees. Here is Melissa grinding through a backcountry trail in deep pow.
A Cold View from Furano
This is the view across the central Hokkaido valley from the Furano ski resort, where we were skiing (mostly) in the trees. A very cold and windy day.
Not as Good as the Ice Sculpture Festival
We missed the Sapporo ice sculpture festival by one day, so this little sculpture was all we could find. Sigh.
Watching Over Sapporo
The Sapporo television tower contains an elevator that shoots you up to an observation deck with great views of the city - when it's not snowing.
Underground in Sapporo
Wandering around the shops underneath Sapporo is a great way to find oversized (and cute) product placements.
A very great deal of powder
Here are a few shots from a recent ski trip with Steamboat Powdercats. There was a massive amount of snow.
